


Crafting My Love

by charmainders



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Domestic Fluff, Elementary School Teacher Sugawara Koushi, Fluff, Happy Ending, Kissing, Love Confessions, Love at First Sight, M/M, Minor Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, No Angst, Romance, Sick Character, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:41:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27192556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charmainders/pseuds/charmainders
Summary: Daichi's evenings of working at a craft supplies shop to support himself in his fine arts major take an interesting turn when a customer comes, and the same customer comes the week after, and then the week after, and for many weeks after, too.As far as Daichi is concerned, he likes the turn of events more than he probably should.
Relationships: Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 8
Kudos: 86





	Crafting My Love

**Author's Note:**

> >   
> He hears a clutter of things drop on the floor, and finds a few plastic tubes of paint have dropped on the floor, so he bends down to pick it up, but Suga must’ve decided to do it at the same time, because both of them accidentally bump their heads against each others’ and it makes Suga giggle under his breath as he holds his head, nose scrunching.
>> 
>> _It’s the cutest, most honey-like thing he’s heard. Smooth, rich and clear._
>> 
>> _Fuck, he’s whipped for Suga, even if they’ve only met three times._  
> 

Daichi appreciates how nice it is working in this craft supplies store, where his coworkers are decent people and it feels like family. Well, to be fair, it is a family-run business and was more than willing to raise Daichi’s pay after his first six months of non-stop work, no off days taken. Sometimes they even have to tell him to take it easy, and often offer him the weekends off, but Daichi brushes it off, saying that he’d rather be working here.

And really, he’d _rather_ be doing so. Not that he didn’t have anything to do, but it was better than being lonely at home, in his rented apartment, because his roommate was often busy with his own assignments and club activities, and was only ever home early on sporadic days because of his group meet ups. So Daichi likes to bring his laptop with him, settle it in front of him at the table, and works on his final projects for the semester, and works six days a week.

The cycle repeats everyday. He comes in at four after he finishes his classes, checks the shelves and restocks them, tidies up the aisles till six. Usually at six there’s a bit of a rush of students from the university nearby that he goes to, and he works hard to find things for them at their request. By seven it quietens, so he gets his laptop, settles it on the counter, and sprawls out his papers to do his research for his final thesis. Working at the craft supplies store has helped him continuously remember theories about colour and mediums, and thank the high heavens considering he’s a fine arts major.

It’s also given him a place so that his loneliness doesn’t eat him up alive, given his preference for being lonely.

The shop is quiet as Daichi works on his assignments, which he is used to by this hour. He’s playing soft music to keep the background music on, while his workmate, Asahi, has taken it upon himself to sweep the floors, in lieu of being absent from work for the last week because he’s been away with his class for a field trip. He leaves Asahi to manage the cleaning while he takes some time and attention away.

There’s a soft sound of the shop’s bell going off as the doors slide open at about nine, almost an hour before closing, and Daichi immediately gets to his feet, removing his earbuds and pausing the video he’s watching for his class. He adjusts his red apron (not a fan of the colour, but it’s part of the standard operating procedures to put one on), making sure the ribbon is tied. 

“Welcome!” he calls out, fixing a smile to his face as he bows to the customer that has come in, who returns his greeting with one of his own, soft, gentle, almost like silk. It’s almost like music, and Daichi imagines it like an orange sunset for a moment. 

When Daichi glances up, he’s met with grey orbs. His customer’s hair is slightly pulled back into a ponytail, the ends barely making it into the bundle, held by a black hair tie that contrasts to his silvery locks. Daichi can barely speak or find something to say because _holy shit, this person is hot._

 _“Hello?”_ He hears his customer call out again, and he snaps out of it to find that the customer has been standing there for a bit. He mentally slaps himself to focus, and smiles again to try and block out his thoughts.

“Sorry, what can I do for you today?”

“I was wondering if you have patterned art tissue and strings about a quarter of an inch thick.” the man asks, showing Daichi a photo of what he was looking for in general. Daichi nods, manoeuvring around the counter and going to the back of the aisle to find what he needs. He searches through the shelves, and eventually, his eyes settle on the column of it.

“These are the ones you’re probably looking for.” he gestures politely, “The wires are at the row in front of the counter. Do you need anything else?”

The man shakes his head, and has a focused glimmer in his eye. Daichi resolves to letting him be for now, let him concentrate on finding what he needs as he returns to the counter. He waits for a bit, watching the clock go; about fifteen minutes later he comes back with his hands full. Daichi is surprised at what the other has put in his purchase - three packs of patterned tissue paper, four rolls of string in red, green, blue and yellow. He also purchases five pairs of scissors, and it leaves Daichi wondering why he’s needing so many things, and if he should be worried or not.

He resolves to not asking anything, though, just entering all the items into the register and letting him know his total due (with a discount, because he’s buying that many) while he skilfully packs it all into a neat box, so the things don’t get crumpled. Boxes, to him, look more presentable anyway. He closes the lid, seals it with tape with the shop’s brand name embossed on it, and hands it over to his customer. He finds that he’s been watching Daichi work all this time, and he feels a slight hot flush on his cheeks that he chooses to ignore, certainly not because a hot person was watching. He passes the change on the money tray, and bows out of habit and courtesy. 

“Thank you! Do come again!”

“Thank you for your help!” the other calls out, and by the time Daichi realizes, he feels somewhat disappointed that he didn’t quite get his customer’s name. In his defence, if he got his customer’s name, he could’ve kept a note on the counter so that the other shift employee would know to give him a discount if he ever buys in bulk again.

Daichi closes up that night thinking about that customer, hoping he’ll return again.

* * *

_Another week of assignments, hectic days, and work shifts._

Thursday has been a long day from the morning, so Daichi is glad that when he steps in at four, the shop is peaceful and the only other person there is Asahi, a final year in design. He drops his bag in the staff office and puts on his red apron, immediately gets to restock from the apparent busy afternoon they’ve had, and sweeps out a few dust bunnies at the back of the shelves. It’s slightly quieter, but at six they have a rush again, so Daichi spends the rest of his shift after the hectic rush hour restocking and cleaning. 

“Daichi, do you mind checking on the paint stock? A few students came in for oil and poster colour paints earlier and bought them in bulk for their projects, I think, so we might need to restock the shelves. Make a list of the paints we need to order? I’ll check on the painting tools.” he hears Asahi call out from the staff office, and he returns it with a soft okay as he goes to get the clipboard from the counter to check on the remaining stock in the store.

He’s working on counting the number of individual tubes of paint left on the shelf when he hears the bell at the front door ring. He assumes that Asahi is there at the front, since the paint tools are slightly towards the front, so he lets Asahi take care of the customer.

“Daichi!” he hears, and he responds, and Asahi calls out again. “Could you help? I’m stuck in the store looking for the brushes, how do we even get by with the mess in this store-”

He lets a quiet chuckle out, placing the pen in his apron pocket and heading back to the front. “I’ll get it!” 

He hears a faint _thank you_ and a soft grunt, so Daichi heads to the front, and is totally caught off guard with the face he meets at the counter. It’s the same man from the week before, his hair in a small ponytail again, this time with golden metal-framed glasses, in a pastel blue hoodie (it was beginning to get slightly colder, these couple of days). Daichi swallows and lets out a breath he wasn’t even sure he was holding and approaches him. “Hi, sorry about that. What can I help you with?”

“Oh, hi!” he seems distracted, but smiles apologetically and removes his earbuds and returns them to its casing, before showing him a photo. “Do you have special craft scissors, craft felt, glue?”

This particular project has Daichi interested - judging by the things he wanted, he wasn’t going to sew the felt, which could mean that it was for kids, if he was opting for glue instead. “Should be here.” he leads the way, seeking out the felt and pointing to it. “That should be what you’re looking for.”

“That’s perfect,” he nods, reaching to feel the material a few times, and turns to Daichi. “Do you happen to sell this in bulk?”

“We sell them in bigger packs of fifty in one, multicoloured.” he gestures to the next column, “Alternatively, we have rolls of them too, so it depends on what you’re buying them for.”

“I’m teaching a class of thirty. Do you think the pack would be sufficient?” he asks, trying to figure out the math. _There it is,_ Daichi thinks, _my predictions were right. He is a teacher. Interesting, no wonder he’s buying all these in bulk._

“One pack is enough to go around for maybe ten kids depending on how many you’re using per kid.” he suggests, and when he’s too far into his calculations to reply, Daichi resolves to letting him continue his thoughts while he goes back to counting the stocks.

About twenty minutes later of restocking and filling up another order form, he hears the counter bell go off, so he goes to the front. On the counter sits four packs of felt, two boxes of patterned craft scissors, a few bottles of glue, and some smaller accessories like felt pieces and string. “It’s a lot, I know, I’m so sorry.” his customer apologizes with a bashful smile, scratching his nape. “It’s just that when you have to teach a class of thirty, wide-eyed kids in their first year of elementary, you’ve got to constantly come up with new ideas to keep them excited.”

Daichi listens as he counts everything, nodding at his words. He has his own siblings, so he understands what it’s like to keep them occupied. He wishes he has his patience in planning, accommodating his students and working hard even after work hours. “I’m sure they appreciate the effort.” he comments, passing him the receipt after he pays and starts packing everything. The felt packs go in first, then the scissors and glue, and finally the accessories, before he seals it off with the embossed sticker. “Alright, that should be it.”

“Thank you,” he smiles gratefully, before stopping and thinking for a moment, before he speaks up again. “I haven’t gotten your name.” 

_“Daichi Sawamura.”_ he responds immediately, reaching his hand out for a handshake. He didn’t think much about the exchange, just a regular talk between someone who has come in more than once and a staff. “And yours?”

 _“Koshi Sugawara._ My students call me Suga instead. I told them they could so they would see me more as a friend instead of someone intimidating.” he returns the handshake, and _oh god,_ Daichi thinks, his hands are so warm in a welcoming way, and Suga’s eyes are filled with such a pretty colour. “Thank you for helping.”

“O-Of course.” Daichi straightens again, before pulling his hand back and dipping his head as Suga waves goodbye to him and leaves. “Take care! See you again!”

When Suga finally leaves, Daichi takes a moment to think, because what the hell just happened, and he thinks, letting his mind race, feeling his body overheat a little too hard.

_Fuck._

* * *

When he gets home from work that same night, he’s surprised that his roommate is home, making supper in the kitchen. He can smell the rice wine and seaweed, so he assumes his roommate is making onigiri, because that’s his go-to meal if he can’t find anything, and he could eat multiple in one sitting if nobody truly stopped him.

“Kageyama?” he looks in as he passes the kitchen after dropping his bag in his room, waving to his roommate. “You’re home early. I thought you said you were gonna be really late?” Daichi asks, reaching into the cupboard to get one of his cup ramen noodles.

“Coach decided to let us out early today, so I got a cab home. I was gonna go for supper with the team, but most of the team has assignments to follow up, so we decided to end the training session and get some rest.” the younger boy explains, shaping his onigiri and placing seaweed on it, before leaning against the kitchen counter and taking a bite. 

Daichi pours hot water and the soup base into the cup. “Uh-huh.” he nods, “How’s the team holding up?”

“Everyone’s training harder with the nationals qualifier games coming up.” Kageyama comments through another mouthful of his onigiri. “Hinata and I finalized our attacks, so we’re pretty much decent on the offensive side, but we’ve gotta work harder if we want to defend well.”

“Mm, Hinata _again,”_ Daichi has an amused grin on his face, and out of the corner of his eye he can see Kageyama blush furiously and give an annoyed scowl; ears turning red as he tries to find an excuse to not look at Daichi. “You both have been going in circles haven’t you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean.” Kageyama retorts, almost too quickly. Ooh, boy had a temper.

“Oh, come on.” he laughs as he slurps the ramen, chewing carefully to judge the taste (not bad, he thinks, _this brand of ramen is so good._ He needs to buy more.) as he thinks. “You bring him back to ours every now and then, work on projects together all the time, both of your jerseys are literally next to each other. Don't think I haven't noticed his spare pajamas in the laundry.

“And?” Kageyama tries deflecting as he adds a savoury topping to his onigiri, then flattening the rice. “We’re just teammates.”

“And?! You both know that you like each other.” Don’t tell anyone, but Daichi is _a hundred percent_ sure he’s heard strange noises multiple times when he’s up late working on his project and Kageyama brings Hinata home after late-night training, because Hinata lives about an hour from their university with his parents and it’s easier to bunk sometimes so they can fit some extra hours of much-needed sleep. Figure that one out. “Do something about it.” he encourages.

Kageyama visibly cringes, mouth full of onigiri, and even if he’s trying to hide it, Daichi can see it. “Ugh. No thanks.” he shakes it off quickly, finishing his second onigiri in the same time span that it takes Daichi to drink a quarter of the ramen broth and chew through three mouthfuls of his ramen. “And what about you and your work?” he asks, getting a lunch box out to pack the rest of the remains into smaller onigiris (he can also see Kageyama place a bit of rolled omelette between the rice, and he knows _exactly_ who it’s for.)

Daichi shrugs, thoughts surrounding Suga once again, as if it hadn’t been all that was on Daichi’s mind on his walk back from the shop. “Meh. Large crowd at six, restocked after. The same, nothing new.” he slurps through more soup.

Kageyama closes the lid of the box. “Sounds boring. I don’t know how you stay at that job.”

Daichi snorts, careful not to do so while slurping. “Says the guy who plays volleyball everyday, no breaks in between, repeats the cycle everyday.” he catches the glare he’s given, ducks a possible incoming spike to the face, and laughs, finishing the last bite before he tosses the cup into the bin. “Kidding. But seriously, talk to Hinata.”

“You sound like my mom.”

“I’m just looking out for you.” Daichi comments, pretending to be offended while he does so while washing his hands. He dries them off, then goes to the couch to grab his bag. “Throw the trash out and make sure the place is clean! I’m going to bed. Good night!”

Kageyama gives a hum before getting back to doing his chores, and Daichi heads to his room. He bathes, cleans up, slips under the sheets. In dreamland, he dreams about Suga.

* * *

The following week, Asahi has taken another off day on a Thursday, citing that he has private family matters, so he switches his shifts with Oikawa, and he knows _too well_ he’s in for a rough evening at work because as far as anyone is concerned, he’s _too_ observant and working with him means getting teased about anything and everything he knows about that person he’s partnered with for the shift. Asahi usually works the shifts he’s not doing to avoid him for this particular reason.

Daichi sits by himself at the counter, working through order forms and checking the newly arrived stock, making sure it’s everything they need, when he hears the door bell ring out. He grabs the box and places it on the floor beside his chair, and smiles in greeting. 

At the door, Suga’s dusting off his silvery, luxurious locks off of snow, no thanks to the slight snowfall outside that’s begun to fall outside. It’s just slightly before nine, and Daichi was partially waiting and hoping for Suga to appear again. Today Suga’s wearing an all black combination of skinny jeans and high cut converse, topped off with a grey hooded cloak that ends at his hips, and in his usual ponytail. Daichi has to hold it in to not try and look creepy while he’s checking Suga out in that outfit, because wow, only he could pull off such a look.

“Daichi!” he grins, waving and bowing slightly. “I need your help,” he asks now, showing him a photo, like always. “Looking for skin safe paints that can be used for hands.”

This one is easy, Daichi thinks, as he walks to the paint aisle and finds the skin safe options in the middle of the rack. This is when, somehow, Oikawa seems to take notice of their new customer while sweeping the floor, and is interested. Daichi silently prays he won’t say anything embarrassing, not at least until Suga is out of the place, but he can see the smirk Oikawa has and has to hope for the best. And by best he meant the _absolute_ best.

Oikawa doesn’t make any moves and just sweeps. _Thank the heavens._

He hears a clutter of things drop on the floor, and finds a few plastic tubes of paint lay motionless on the tiled floor, so he bends down to pick it up, but Suga must’ve decided to do it at the same time, because both of them accidentally bump their heads against each others’ and it makes Suga giggle under his breath as he holds his head, nose scrunching.

_It’s the cutest, most honey-like thing he’s heard. Smooth, rich and clear._

_Fuck, he’s whipped for Suga, even if they’ve only met three times._

Suga picks the tube up and gets to his feet, still giggling about the accidental bump. “Sorry!” he offers a hand to Daichi, pulling him up to his own feet. “I went for it instinctively and didn’t think twice even though I saw you crouch first. I hope it didn’t hurt.” Suga’s cheeks are distinctively flushed in the sweet cherry tones, and Daichi can’t tell if they’ve already been flushed because of the snowfall, or because of the accident. Either way, it’s cute.

“Don’t worry about it,” he immediately responds, his smile forming too as he helps hold the tubes Suga has picked out for his purchase. Suga has seemingly opted for those that already came in a box, ten basic colours in one pack. Suga takes three of those, and a spare set of brushes. He grabs two packs of shaped sponges, too.

When they’re at the counter and Daichi is finding a box big enough for the stuff, he hears Suga speak again. “Do you work here everyday? It must be quiet.”

_He doesn’t notice that Suga has left a sticky note onto the countertop near the cash register._

Daichi gives a small huff as he comes up from finding the box, and makes eye contact with Suga. “I work four to ten every evening after classes.” he comments, counting the goods and remembering to give a small discount, then passing the receipt over. “The family running this business was nice enough to give me a slightly higher pay even though I only work six hours everyday. Six is the rush hour, so you’re lucky you don’t have to squeeze when you come at nine, almost closing hours.”

He hears Suga click his tongue. “You must be exhausted by the time you finish.”

“Eh, it’s just six hours. Cleaning, stocking, working on my own things.” Daichi shrugs as he puts everything in a box, sealing off the box with the embossed sticker and taking the cash from Suga. “Can’t be more tiring than teaching for a full day.”

Suga lets out a laugh, almost similar to his giggle, _full of life and smooth like the richest honey._ Daichi wants to think about it all the time, now. “Wouldn’t I know that,” he mumbles with a smile still on his cheeks, “In all honesty, when I see the kids leave the school and show their craftwork to their parents with proud eyes, I feel like it’s worth the effort.”

Daichi admires his work ethic - it really does seem like Suga has literally married his life to his work, dedicated to making kids smile and learning things. It’s something he’s not sure that he himself is capable of doing, and Suga is merely just a first grade art teacher. He’s literally dedicated to his craft. He wonders why Suga even ended up in education anyway, with the way he dresses and his body structure, he could easily be earning a lot more if he got attached to some major fashion company than being on a teacher’s salary.

“Are you an arts major?” Suga asks, snapping Daichi out of his deeper thoughts and making him turn his head to look at Suga from the cashier where he’s busy getting the change for Suga. He notices that Suga is looking at his research pieces, a few of them about photography and some about traditional mediums. “I didn’t think anyone took fine arts anymore, at least not at a masters level.” his eyes twinkle slightly, a hidden glow at the mention of fine arts. It seems like the both of them have something in common to talk about.

“I’m finishing my masters. I’m thinking of starting my own business in the future, I’m not sure.” Daichi says casually as he places the change in Suga’s hands. It almost feels like they’re talking like friends, even though they’ve only met just barely three weeks ago, and Daichi can’t help but feel as if he’s known Suga his whole life because the way Suga listens and looks at him like that, it makes him feel like he’s safe to share whatever he wants to.

“It must be interesting,” Suga comments, and Daichi laughs under his breath.

 _“Not as interesting as you,”_ Daichi tries smoothly, and he watches as another flush of colour rises on Suga’s cheeks, and as much as Suga tries to hide it by laughing it off, he can see the effect of his words. “You make for a very interesting customer, coming in and buying so much at closing time.” He almost wants to say that he looks forward every week to Suga’s appearance at the shop, but he holds it back, not wanting to sound creepy. It’s true, though, because work is boring sometimes as much as he likes it, and he’s mostly staring at his work or cleaning shelves. So Suga’s presence somehow makes up for the long hours.

He thinks Suga is still trying to pretend like his words didn’t have any effect. “I should get going.” he gestures to the door awkwardly as he picks the box up, then waving to Daichi and bowing. “Thank you for your immense help, again,” he says before he comes up from his bow, and he leaves after, leaving Daichi’s heart feeling slightly colder than it was.

“Daichi?” Oikawa comes around the corner, still holding the broom in his hand. _Oh god._ “Did you just try to flirt with a customer?” There’s an amused tone in his voice, almost smug, and Daichi can already see this conversation go three ways: one, he admits to it, Oikawa lets it die, and nobody is any the wiser. Two, Oikawa tells Asahi and Iwaizumi, and then they’ll tease him in return for weeks to come. This option is not a good one, and Daichi refuses to think about the consequences.

Three, he seals Oikawa’s mouth with duct tape.

_He’s joking._

_Or was he._

_Ahem._

Daichi shrugs at Oikawa, even if the blush on his cheeks betrays him, “Don’t know what you’re talking about. It was just a regular talk, nothing else.” he attempts to hide it, but all he can think about is how warm Suga’s hand is. Damn his brain, because it’s so rotten sometimes that he would love to trade it for a new one. Maybe trade Oikawa in too while they’re at it, because sometimes as much as working with Oikawa was nice and he actually did his work, he can feel himself losing ten years of his life.

 _“Dai-chan!”_ he sing-songs, making Daichi cringe inwardly and make an attempt to go to get the shelf duster, wanting to work on cleaning out the shelves before restocking. But Oikawa stopped him from entering the storage room, and Daichi groaned at that. “He’s cute! You mean you don’t think so? Because I see the way you’re smiling and looking at him when you both talk,” he teases now, making Daichi cross his arms.

“Yeah, and? I talk like this to my friends in school.”

 _“Eyyyyy,_ don’t look so angry. You like having this conversation,” Oikawa gives a dramatic whine, and Daichi has to wonder, not for the first time, how he even got the job, or how he wasn’t a drama major, because he sure as hell has that flair. “He’s cute, he likes fine arts, unlike most of us who can’t understand your love for it-” he braces for a smack from Daichi which never comes, “And he specifically looks for you.” he points out, which he doesn’t blink, because Daichi is the only person Suga knows the name of.

Oikawa is nowhere near giving up, appearing more amused by each passing moment as he tries to gauge a reaction out of Daichi. “Don’t look at me like that Dai-chan! **(don’t call me that, Oikawa-)** He’s probably the first bit of genuine interaction you’ve had besides your roommate, Asahi and your classmates. He seems interesting!” 

Daichi rolls his eyes and pushes his arm out of the way, going to get what he came for. “Closing in twenty, or you’re locking up on your own.”

“You’re no fun,” he can hear Oikawa pouting as he returns to sweeping, and Daichi sighs as he refocuses on the rest of his duties. He cleans the shelves, restocks, counts the cash in the register, makes sure the balance is correct, and locks up the cashier for the night, before something catches his eye. 

He picks up the pastel blue sticky note stuck to the side of the register, like Suga’s hoodie. He must’ve picked up a piece from Daichi’s stationery case, and the colour reminds him of that cute hoodie he wore two weeks ago. He reads the note carefully, wondering what’s on it.

_Koshi Sugawara_  
_090 xxxx xxxx_  
_Here’s my number! You seem really nice and I thought I’d leave my number so we can talk more if you want. See you again!_

It’s written in such tidy handwriting, almost expected for a teacher, and Daichi feels his heart race when he reads the note again. By now Oikawa has left since counting the cash had taken a while, but Daichi can hear his voice. 

He seems interesting.

* * *

When he gets back to his house, he notes that Kageyama is already home, judging by the black shoes on the shoe rack, accompanied by the telltale signs of a frequent visitor, because he recognizes the red accents on the white shoes. He knows where _this_ is going.

He opens the door and he’s greeted with the sight of the two kids having an intense make out on the couch _(like face on face),_ and he deadpans. Kageyama and Hinata immediately scramble to pretend like nothing happened at all. Too bad Hinata’s wild hair is telling a different story here, because he could tell Kageyama had been gripping at his hair and he was not sure how to feel about them making out on a shared spot in the living area where Daichi sometimes slept if he couldn’t get any rest.

 _Silence. Pin drop._ Daichi feels like he’s scarred for life watching the way they make out like horny teenagers _(well, yeah, that’s kinda the point, the devil on his shoulder says, and he mentally tells it to shut up.)_ “I won’t interrupt you both. I’ll make breakfast before I head out. I’ve got a group meeting before so don’t expect to see me when you both wake.” he comments, awkwardly walking off to his room, zero words from either of the other two. He hears them fuss around for a bit before returning to Kageyama’s room.

Daichi mentally facepalms.

* * *

By the time he finishes his bath and gets a snack (making sure the two of them aren’t on the couch making out again), he looks through his coat pocket and digs out the sticky note, and contemplates texting. He types for a few minutes, wondering what the right thing to say is, and eventually the words stare back at him.

**To Suga ; 1201 am**  
_Hey, I saw that you left your number. This is Daichi._

Simple enough. He sent it and not two minutes later, he saw his phone lit up, and it was from Suga. Daichi felt himself get excited by the simple text.

**From Suga ; 1202 am**  
_Oh hi! I didn’t think you’d see the note. Did you just reach home?_

**To Suga ; 1203 am**  
_Yeah, closed up late. Gonna finish up a bit of my essay and then bed. You?_

**From Suga ; 1206 am**  
_Just finished preparing tomorrow’s things. Don’t sleep too late! I won’t disturb you anymore._

**To Suga ; 1208 am**  
_I’ll try not to. Thank you, it means a lot. Have a good day tomorrow!_

The texts end with smiley emojis, and Daichi places his phone down on his table, tucking his legs up to his chest while on his bed as he stares at his stack of notes. He managed to get Suga’s number. He _actually_ did. So now they could text, ask each other things. He barely knew this man, but he trusted Suga a lot, and he’s not sure if it’s because he’s touch starved or he just wants someone to talk to, but suddenly having Suga in his life, he feels so much brighter. 

_Oh no._

* * *

The texting and visits go on for weeks. In the morning he’ll wake up to an occasional photo of the sunrise on the road, signalling that Suga was on the way to school, and sometimes he’d get a picture of the kids’ creations during the mid-day, or a cup of coffee from that place his friend works at. In return, Daichi sends pictures of his lunch, shows what he’s up to in the shop, and his view of the street covered in snow as the mid-winter season arrives.

They reach a point of being comfortable enough to talk to each other and spending time with each other. Some nights Suga calls him online on skype and they chat over video call. Suga is usually preparing class plans for the week ahead (he finds out that Suga teaches English, too, and has his own homeroom class in the first grade) while Daichi pushes forward with his research for his final thesis paper. They call till two in the morning sometimes on Saturday nights, midnight on school nights, and Daichi becomes so used to it. Sometimes he sees Suga fall asleep at his laptop, head in his arms, and he wishes he could help him by placing a blanket over him or urge him to bed, but Suga is too deep asleep, so he just types a message and hangs up. 

Sunday evening comes around, and Daichi takes it easier, allowing himself to have a break. It’s the winter break just before the new year, so he has some time to cool down before the January semester. As he’s about to get dinner after forgetting the time while working through his books, he hears his skype ring out. He frowns; his teammates don’t usually call on Sundays, and friends from high school are all busy on their own visiting family. Which means…

 _“Suga?”_ he frowns, suddenly worried about why he’s getting a call from Suga at eight in the evening; Suga usually spends the last half of the day on his students’ things, and Suga had even mentioned he was gonna be marking papers before the term resumes again. He sees Suga looking lethargic, which worries Daichi more because the last time Daichi had seen him at the shop, Suga was looking absolutely decent. 

His eyes are red-rimmed, and he speaks in a sluggish tone. “Hey, erm...I know this is weird, but is it possible if you came over for a bit?” he asks, and Daichi’s eyes widen. “Nothing out of the ordinary, but I can barely get out of the house and my family isn’t home, so I haven’t really gotten anything to eat, and I hate to be bothersome-” 

Daichi is already on his feet, tossing his shirt off somewhere away from the camera and pulling on a simple black tee, and some jeans. “Text me your address, I’ll come over.” 

He can hear the apprehension in Suga’s voice when he speaks next, but it’s interrupted with a series of sneezes and Daichi has to admit, sick Suga is partially cute if it weren’t for how hard Suga was sneezing at the moment. “Sent you a text already.” he pauses to blow his nose into the tissue. “Take your time. It’s cold, wrap up, stay warm.”

Daichi laughs under his breath as he grabs an extra set of clothes and his valuables, throwing it in a bag. “You’re the sick one, and yet you’re still lecturing me about the weather. Stay put, I’ll be over in an hour.”

“Thank you.” he gives a tiny grin, before hanging up.

Daichi packs his laptop into a bag with some of his things, and he slings his bag over his shoulder. In case he needs to spend the night. Not that he has anywhere to be in the morning, and only works at four, so he can spare some time with Suga.

 _With Suga, of all people._ He was very sure he was beginning to form a crush on the man he had barely known for three months since he first appeared at the shop, and yet he was already going out of his way just to help a friend even if Suga had said it was okay if he didn’t.

He locks up the house and leaves a note for Kageyama for when he gets home from practice, and leaves with his bike. He makes sure that he rides along the non-icy parts of the path, and cycles towards the grocery shop first. He wishes he could make a meal from scratch, but time is not a luxury right now, so he grabs what he can - chicken breast, pre-cooked soy-marinated onsen eggs, tofu, scallions, and a bottle of isotonic drink so Suga can replenish. For breakfast he goes to find some ham and cheese, having a plan in mind for something simple and comforting. He hopes that his plan for the next two meals is good enough, and he pays for it all. He also hopes Suga has enough rice, eggs and miso paste for two.

When he arrives at the place Suga is staying at, he locks his bike and heads upstairs, knocking the door with his free hand. For a moment there’s only silence, but considering Suga looked so drowsy, he didn’t want to assume that he’d managed to stay awake in between. He’s greeted with the sight of Suga, wrapped in a black hoodie, long pajama pants, and a blanket over his shoulders. He gives a sheepish smile on his pale cheeks and lets Daichi in without another word.

“Sorry, I just didn’t want to go out there in the cold, but I couldn’t get out of bed much either because it’s so cold.” he seems to shiver, and Daichi presses a hand over Suga’s forehead. He can tell Suga is burning up, and judging by what Suga has said, it’s likely he might not have been able to have medication either.

Daichi shakes his head, looking for the direction of the kitchen. The house decor catches his eyes, it’s so simple and not what he expected from Suga. Then again, he did live with his parents, so he wasn’t too surprised. “No worries. I don’t really have much to do, anyway,” he takes off his coat and leaves it on the couch arm, before adjusting his sleeves. “I assume you have rice, right?”

“A decent amount, yeah, and tea if you want to drink some.”

_Perfect._

“Give me a bit to make something?” Daichi gestures to the couch, getting him to rest, and Suga relents, just sitting and curling up while the laptop on the coffee table is playing some cheesy tunes off a playlist. Daichi gets to work - he makes sure the rice is washed just enough, and puts in just enough water so the rice doesn’t end up swimming in water. He waits for the porridge to almost finish cooking before placing the chicken breast in to cook through, just to the point of it being perfect, and takes it out to let it cool. He hears footsteps and turns to see Suga standing by the doorway.

“You didn’t tell me you were a decent cook.” Suga teases through a sneeze and a tissue, but otherwise still very much the same other than the red cheeks and red nose.

“You never asked,” Daichi shrugs in return, chuckling before beginning to shred the chicken breast into slices that he hopes is small enough for Suga to chew the bare minimum and get through without the possibility of throwing up. “I learnt to cook when I started living by myself in first-year university. My roommate often comes home late and leaves later in the morning than I do, so I would leave leftovers and make breakfast before I go out.”

Suga hums, nodding. “That’s really nice of you.” 

“Doing the bare minimum. I see my roommate as a brother by now. We might consider living together even after I graduate.” he continues with working on the food, now focused on placing the shredded chicken back in the pot to let it cook. He reaches for a bowl, cuts open the onsen eggs (two of them, because this brand makes the best and he wanted one for himself), places a damp paper towel over it, and microwaves it until it’s hot enough to serve.

He’s aware that Suga is watching him, but he’s more than comfortable letting him. Daichi scoops the porridge into a bowl after he seasons the porridge enough with a small bit of soy sauce and pepper, cuts the scallions, and presents it to Suga, now seated at the dining table. “It’s not much, but this is what my mom makes when I get a cold.”

“Daichi, _are you kidding?”_ he reaches into the drawers to grab a spoon, half smiling through the sniffles. “This looks amazing,” Suga’s eyes glimmer slightly as he glances to Daichi. “I already feel bad you’re pretty much paying for everything, and now you’re making such a nice dinner…” he scoops a small mouthful of it and blows it, then eating it. Suga immediately gives a thumbs up. “It’s so good,” he whimpers, “I already feel slightly better.”

_He’s cute even when he’s sick._

_Daichi is dangerously in love with Suga and he knows it himself._

Daichi gives a warm smile, then places the grocery bag of rubbish away. “I’m just doing what I can to help.” he mumbles, focused on getting his own share before settling across Suga and digging into their dinner together. It’s almost ten, but he’s not complaining about the strange turn of events with the day.

“Mm, I hate the winter.” Suga says through a mouthful of his porridge, a quarter of his portion gone. He still seems exhausted, but somewhat better with at least some food in his stomach. “Not that the snow isn’t nice, but it’s hard to go through it when you’re so sensitive in the cold and you fall ill so easily.” he quickly stops himself from sneezing, “I get so horribly ill that I’d rather just combust. Normally my parents would be home, but they’ve got some emergency situation at work, so they left me to my own devices.”

Daichi sucks in a breath, shaky as he decides to thread lightly with what he says next. “Hey, next time if you do get sick again, just call me. Or if you need anything else.” 

Suga catches the nervousness in his tone and raises a brow. “Even if it’s not craft store related?” he asks genuinely, but he can hear the teasing tone.

Daichi nods, eyes focused on Suga. “Sure.”

_“Then can I call you mine?”_

Daichi almost chokes on his food before swallowing a whole mouthful of his porridge.

_Excuse him, what was that?_

“I was kidding about that,” Suga laughs, before the room quietens before he seems to get serious again. “But I hope...you see me as a good friend, too.” Suga looks at him half-seriously; there’s a small bit of disappointment on his face? Daichi can’t quite tell. “I kinda...think you’re really nice, and even if I’m asking a lot at this hour, you were willing to come down...and honestly you’re probably the only person I’m a lot more comfortable with.” he admits, scratching his nape. “I know, it sounds weird, but it’s...it’s a long story.”

“I have all the time.” Daichi shrugs, face scrunching with worry. He didn’t want to laugh at the pick up line, all of a sudden, because Suga just sounds like he was going through a bit, not just with the cold.

It’s Suga’s turn to take a deep breath. “Maybe later, when we can focus.”

So when dinner is done, dishes are washed, and Suga is comfortably on the bed after his medicine and half bottle of isotonic drink, Daichi sits beside him in his room on his table chair, while Suga takes the bed so he can relax into his pillows. Daichi has to admit, the room was something he imagined Suga would have - the walls are a plain nude beige, but two of his walls have large cork boards, and up close Daichi can see some of the little crafts his students have made for him. He assumes Suga is sentimental over those.

On his bedside drawer sits two tiny potted plants and his phone’s docking station. And on his work table, he can see how it’s filled with papers, stacks of marked worksheets, a thick dictionary, and some of the accessories Suga wears - rings of various designs, three necklaces hanging on hooks on his wall, and two pairs of glasses, one with and the other without lenses. Everything in this room screams Suga’s personality.

Suga is quiet, no words spoken, and Daichi waits for him to speak. It’s only after a while that he does, all bundled up, head on his knees. He looks sleepy, but struggles to keep awake. “In school, when I was much younger, I used to fall ill very often. The doctors were not sure why, it wasn’t chronic or anything terminal, but falling ill caused my grades to suffer, and I was often in and out of the hospital for low blood pressure and dizzy spells that would cause me to pass out even with proper intake. It wasn’t horrible, but I was consistently not doing well. And that’s the least of the issues. Because of my grades and me constantly falling ill, I got bullied a lot for it. Called lazy because my classmates assumed I was skipping classes.”

Daichi’s breath hitches when he hears sniffles. He musters through a sucked in breath, “Suga, I’m so sorry, I never knew.”

“No, it’s okay.” he lets out a choked laugh, trying to get through what must’ve been a painful memory. “I still remember what the teachers did. It didn’t help. My elementary teachers just let it slide, mostly, unaware, even though they tried to give me one on one classes, it was just hard to catch up sometimes even if I tried enough. I’m grateful they helped, but I wished they could have stopped the bullying, too, because sometimes I didn’t want to go.”

Daichi moves over, and when he agrees, Daichi sits across Suga on the bed, offering the tissue box from Suga’s table. He gives a small huff and laughs, accepting it with a soft mutter of thank you.

“In middle and high school it got better. I got to play volleyball for a bit, but I was often sick, too, so I missed quite a few classes in between. I didn’t have many friends to fall back on because I often kept to myself, and I guess some of them took pity, but a lot of them didn’t last beyond graduation even if I tried. I fell less ill towards the end of high school, but of course I still do sometimes, bad enough to keep me in bed for a whole week and put me on compassionate leave from work.” Suga laughs weakly, before coughing and blowing his nose. He pushes his hair back, through his fingers. Daichi wants to do that for him, too. His heart aches for Suga, because not only is it tough to be sharing all these too personal stories, it must be a lot to recall from childhood.

“I love teaching children, and over the last year I’ve built up a better immunity teaching these kids. I would do anything for them, and I want to continue doing so for a long time because teaching them makes me feel like I’m preparing the youth for the better. And I want to be the best I can be with them. That doesn’t mean I don’t fall ill often, but at least kids in this day and age are a lot more sympathetic, and I return to get well soon cards.” Suga mumbles, smiling faintly at Daichi now. “I looked forward to going to the shop every week, if it wasn’t clear.”

Suga still looks drowsy when he says that. He assumes it’s the medicine kicking in, but Suga pats the space next to him on the single bed, so Daichi moves and leans back against the pillows. He’s suddenly wrapped up around Suga; his head is on his shoulder and an arm over his waist, close enough for Daichi to feel how feverish he is, but it isn’t unpleasant.

Somehow it feels natural. Like they’re meant to fit, and even if Suga is sick, Daichi has no heart to move away, so he just wraps Suga in a blanket and an arm around his shoulder to keep him warm, as Suga falls into a restful sleep for the night. When Suga is finally asleep, Daichi takes his time to watch - Suga sleeps with possibly the most relaxed expression, curled up around him, so deep asleep. He looks so small, and Daichi wants to protect him so bad.

_Daichi is in love. He knows it. And this very moment seals it. He cherishes the moment._

* * *

In the morning Daichi is awake, hardly sleeping while he’s watching over to make sure Suga sleeps and nothing acts up, and he tiptoes out of the room to start on breakfast for them. Before anything, he cooks a small amount of rice. 

He then takes the ham and cheese out, and cracks the eggs in a bowl, strains them to rid of any impurities, and turns the fire on a middle to low fire. When it heats up just enough with the oil, he pours in the egg into the rectangle pan, and waits for it to slowly cook before he begins to skilfully roll it. In between layers he adds ham and cheese, waiting for the cheese to melt and the ham to grill slightly before he rolls it up, too. At the end he has a beautifully done egg roll, and cuts into it to reveal the intricate layers. He’s proud that even with limited ingredients, it produces this beauty.

Lastly, he works on getting some soup ready. In a small pot he dissolves miso paste, and cuts a small block of tofu, then adds wakame seaweed into the soup. It’s a simple breakfast, but it’s decent, and it’s one that Kageyama likes to bring to school in his bento. 

When he finishes setting the table, he’s about to get Suga to wake up, when Suga appears in the doorway, looking better than the night before; blanket left on his bed and he can at least go five minutes without sneezing or coughing his lungs out, and some form of colour on his cheeks “I was wondering where you were,” he smiles faintly, “It looks really good.” he approaches and sits at the table, clasping his hands together in a soft _itadakimasu._

Both of them eat in silence, only accompanied with small hums of approval from Suga. It warms Daichi’s soul to know someone appreciates his cooking, even if simple. He helps clean up, and Suga is good enough to help out a bit, too.

When Daichi mentions he has to get going so he can prepare for his shift before noon, Suga seems to look upset, but understands, so he helps Daichi with his coat and promises to at least order takeout if he can’t get out of bed. At the door, when they’re saying goodbye, Daichi almost turns around before he feels Suga tug his wrist back. When he turns, Suga presses his lips to his cheek, smiling a little. It feels magical, being kissed like that, because Suga’s lips are soft and like he had imagined, smooth like silk. And he smells so good up close, musky and flowery. Almost like what he had expected.

“When I’m better and I can come to the shop again,” Suga looks up at him, their hands now holding one another’s, Suga’s pinky around Daichi’s own, “I wanna go out on a date, with you.”

“With me?” Daichi almost trips over the two simple words, making Suga laugh again, and he nods at that. “I mean, sure, I would really like to.” he nodded without thinking, and his heart is thumping so hard he wonders how he hasn’t gotten cardiac arrest, yet. He just wants to imagine now, how much Suga is going to try and flirt again like he did the night before, how cute he’ll probably look on the date.

Suga lets out a hum. “It’s a promise.” 

It leaves Daichi thinking for the rest of the day.

* * *

They eventually do go on the date they’d been planning. They arrange for the Saturday following that, one after Daichi finishes his work at the shop. Suga has requested Daichi to cook again, stating he really wanted to taste Daichi’s good cooking, and he obliges.

In the morning before he leaves, he prepares the soy-marinated egg and braised pork belly (cha shu). The marinate smells fantastic and it even manages to rouse Kageyama from his room in a sleepy haze, rubbing his eyes. 

“Why are you cooking all this at six in the morning?” he asks as he reaches for a yogurt drink from the fridge, poking the straw in. “Are you making dinner tonight? And what’s with all the cooking from scratch?” he asks a bunch more questions, trailing off, and Daichi laughs.

“Well, uh.” he thinks about how to answer the questions, some more curveball’d than the others, “Remember that guy from the shop I started talking to that I told you about, the teacher?” he’s trying to process it while finishing the egg marinate, “On Monday after he fell sick the night before, he asked me on a date. Needless to say I kind of...feel the same way? And I want to give it a shot. See where this goes, maybe get rid of the loneliness.”

Kageyama’s eyes light up, and Daichi can already smell the teasing coming.

“Date!” he grins, giving Daichi one on the back and _almost_ causing him to choke. Damn the kid had a hard slap sometimes, and he should really learn to see it coming. “If you like him, you should tell him!”

“And you’re giving me advice because?” Daichi raises a brow. As far as he’s concerned, Kageyama is the _last_ one who should be talking, and the least qualified.

“Can’t I give you advice? Man, you’re hard to talk to sometimes.” he rolls his eyes, tossing his finished pack of yogurt drink in the bin. “I’ll be home late tonight. Don’t think you’d mind letting Hinata come over again?”

Daichi couldn’t care less, really; both of them were home so often that Daichi has learnt to block out the weird parts of it. “I’ll have leftovers if you both want to eat.” 

Kageyama gives a hum of approval, before disappearing. Daichi returns his thoughts to his date tonight.

He can barely keep his excitement when he’s close to finishing his shift; the clock shows almost nine thirty in the evening and that’s usually about the time Suga would show up. And he does, hair in a ponytail held by a black tie, wearing circle framed glasses again, a grey coat, white turtleneck, and black jeans. He looks so much fresher than the last time they’ve seen each other; Daichi has to stop in his tracks for a bit before he continues his work at the counter.

“Mm, you know what I’m looking for this week.” Suga beams, and Daichi can’t tell if he’s joking, because while he knows Suga is looking for colour squared block paper and wooden sticks (they’re making windmills and flowers to decorate the school for some event), he can sense an incoming pick up line-

 _“Looking for you,”_ Suga grins, almost devil-like, mischievous in tone. 

_Damn him and his smooth mouth._

“You’re gonna have to wait for me if that’s all you’re looking for.” he snorts, rounding the corner of the counter as he walks to get the colour block paper and the wooden sticks. “Do you need anything else?” he looks at Suga, eyebrow raised.

 _“Just you.”_ Suga teases again, and it earns a red faced Daichi. The latter pretends he didn’t hear that as he bit his lip and went to the front, keying in the purchases and giving the receipt. He crouches down to get a box, and packs everything.

When he’s done, he glances at Suga. “Give me a bit to clean up and remove my apron.” As Suga leaves to go to his car, Daichi gets to cleaning up, listens to Oikawa tease him again _(tell me if anything exciting happens!)_ , and counts the cash in the register before closing up. 

He gets into Suga’s car, giving a tiny huff and a smile. “Sorry, that took a while.”

“No worries. I really think that apron is kinda cute, I want one.” Suga leans over, kissing Daichi on his cheek, making the younger one blush, and driving off to Daichi’s apartment. 

No white or black shoes on the rack. Perfect. He opens the door to the apartment, and is subconsciously about ten times more self conscious about the decor in comparison to that of Suga’s. He lets his guest into his room, revealing the simple white walls that were filled with framed photographs on his wall above his study area, a rack for his coats and more formal clothes, his neatly kept socks, and his double bed, fitted with simple, plain sheets. It’s almost minimalistic except with the occasional pop of colour.

“It’s very _you.”_ Suga compliments, placing his bag on the study table chair.

Daichi can feel his blush, for the thousandth time today, form on his cheeks. They fall into small talk, asking about how work has been, how much nonsense his kids in class have gotten up to during art class, how much homework Suga has been marking, about Kageyama and his refusal to confess to Hinata, and what Daichi’s researching about now. It’s comforting, as Suga sits at the table in the kitchen space, watching Daichi cook for them both. 

Daichi begins by preparing the stock, having already made it the night before in anticipation for the day, and heats it up. He then gets the ramen noodles out, portions it just nicely for them both, and boils them in a separate pot of water for just long enough till it’s springy. He places the portions in a bowl, fills the bowls with hot soup, cuts some leek, places fish cake (kamaboko), tops it off with his homemade chashu and marinated egg. He places two pieces of seaweed last.

 _“Bon appetit.”_ he grins as he brings the bowls over, and Suga’s eyes sparkle at it, like the first time Daichi cooked for them. It smells amazing and he’s glad that everything has gone smoothly enough for him to actually impress someone with his decent skills.

Suga grabs the chopsticks from the table, and says a soft _thank you_ and _itadakimasu_ before he slurps a mouthful of ramen. “Are you sure your major isn’t in culinary arts?” he laughs through a mouthful. Daichi returns the laugh and settles across him, beginning to eat too.

Halfway through, even though they’re silent, he can feel Suga’s bare, warm feet tickle at his own ankle, and Daichi pretends once more that it’s doing nothing to him, but steadily he can feel heat settle in his belly, and it’s not from the soup he’s desperately trying to drink to hide the fact that he’s all flustered from it. Suga is smirking from the other side of the table, and as much as he wants to hit his head, Daichi actually laughs. He hasn’t felt this easy around someone in a long time, opening up enough to someone, much less someone who is willing to stick around for him. It feels good. 

They resolve to watching a movie later. It ends up being _The Notebook,_ because it’s horribly cheesy and romantic, and while Daichi is not one for romance, apparently Suga hasn’t seen it (you haven’t?!) and has been wanting to, and Daichi just happens to have it on his shelf because he bought it to watch for one of his modern film appreciation classes. He sits with his legs sprawled out on the couch, and Suga sits between his legs, back to Daichi’s chest as they share a bowl of popcorn.

“Her mom stole the letters!” Suga protested at the end when the credits began to roll, “If someone did that to me I would be so pissed!” he huffs quietly, pouting cutely as he laid back into Daichi’s embrace and folding his arms and tucked himself under the blanket.

Daichi laughs, hand in Suga’s hair, almost naturally as he combs through the loose bits of his ponytail. His hair is so ridiculously soft it’s like going through silk, and he’s sure the hair curls a bit at the end. It’s ridiculous how Suga is this cute without effort. “It’s a romance movie and you’re angry?” 

“Wouldn’t you be?” Suga looked up at him from below, tilting his chin so he was looking at him inverted. It’s so intimate, but they’re so comfortable that neither of them contemplate getting up and actually going to Daichi’s room. It’s also unspoken that Suga’s spending the night at his, having already changed into pajamas.

Daichi lets out a quiet giggle under his breath before getting to his feet, much to the slightly softer protest of Suga, and pulls the other to his feet. “We should rest up. It’s almost one in the morning.” When Suga finally obliges, he takes Suga’s hand and leads him to the room, turning on the standing lamp and crawling into bed, and invites Suga in. He doesn’t hesitate and curls up into Daichi’s arms comfortably, almost like a kitten, one hand on Daichi’s chest. 

_It feels natural._

Both of them enjoy the silence for that little bit, before they turn to face each other, and Daichi is suddenly fighting the urge to kiss Suga. Their faces are close, breaths mingling, and all Daichi can think of is wanting to just pull Suga so close that they can’t breathe after. It seems like Suga caught the hint, too, because he can see Suga glancing at his eyes, then his lips, and his eyes again, desperately trying not to make it obvious.

Daichi isn’t sure who made the first move, but his hand moves up Suga’s lower waist and sits on his waist, waiting to see where this goes, and Suga goes for the more direct approach of placing his slightly too cold fingers on Daichi’s cheek. Both of them don’t say anything, but it feels like Suga is waiting for something, but so is he.

 _“Do it,”_ he whispers so softly, it’s like a pin drop, and Daichi takes the cue, leans closer, tilting his chin ever so slightly, angling perfectly, before the first kiss lands on their lips.

Nobody moves at first. Daichi feels so good, though, like fire ignited low in his belly and his mind going fuzzy with only Suga in his mind. His hand moves on instinct to Suga’s cheek, cupping it as well like Suga has and brings him closer, sucking his bottom lip before they part for air. The kiss is sweet, and as much as Daichi regrets this not being his first kiss, he has to admit, Suga is _amazing_ to kiss and he wants to repeat it all over again. 

Apparently, Suga seems to catch on, because this time he doesn’t wait before he kisses Daichi again, this time a little more heated, their breaths shallow, shifting just so Suga is half on his body and Daichi can feel his body warm on his. Their bodies fit so perfectly, their lips like puzzle pieces completing the final picture, _craving, wanting, yearning._ It feels so good, so close, almost like heaven; feels as smooth as the way ice cream melts on a summer day. 

_“Suga-”_ he pulls back, and pants breathlessly, smiling through the breaths he takes. It’s a bit before he does, but he eventually rolls over to look at Suga, who’s just as breathless. “Well...that was not my first kiss but...you’re the best damn kisser ever and I don’t think I’ll forget how your lips feel even if I try.”

Suga nearly chokes on a laugh, rolling on his side too and moving closer so he can cuddle close. “Could say the same about you,” he pokes Daichi’s side, making him squirm slightly. “So, does this mean…” he pauses, thinking before glancing up, “Does this mean we’re together?”

Daichi thinks, and lets out a hum, which Suga laughs again, _like a sweet melody, like a chime in his mind, the tune so soft that it’s almost like birds singing._ Daichi moves closer and kisses Suga on the forehead this time, allowing Suga into his embrace. Amongst the tangled limbs, slightly too small blanket, and Suga’s hand on the hem of Daichi’s sweater, he knows that he’s found his favourite work of art, amongst all the art pieces he’s been researching.

They fall asleep in each others’ embrace, and that same morning, snow falls outside, the _first_ snow of the new year.

* * *

“Suga?” he speaks into the receiver, standing outside the elementary school that Suga works at. “I’m here, where should I meet you?”

“Give me a second! I’ll come to the gate and get you a tag.” he hangs up right after, leaving Daichi in a soft fit of laughter as he places his phone back in his pocket. He grabs his equipment bag and waits, before seeing a familiar black button-up shirt accompanied with a jacket over, a red tie, and work pants. 

“Hi, sorry,” Suga laughs as he approaches and tiptoes just a bit to kiss Daichi on his cheek, not afraid to do it in full view of others. “Getting the kids ready for the performance is a little tougher than any of us expected because of the extra props, and some of them are so hyper that-” he’s going on a whole bullet train’s worth of issues that never ends, and Daichi has to press a hand to Suga’s chest to remind him where he is and out of his panic, chuckling. 

“Breathe,” he reminds, letting Suga calm slightly. He knows how nervous Suga is, because for the last month or so (as Suga says), the teachers have been working to guide the kids to practice a performance for the cultural festival, and while Suga expresses that he enjoys it, working with kids who were barely out of kindergarten was nothing short of a challenge of its own and it often left him exhausted when he came home. He just wants the kids to have fun and the rest of the school and potentially the public to enjoy the performance.

Suga calms a bit, before nodding with a nervous smile. “Thank you,” he whispers, reaching to take Daichi’s hand to steady himself. After getting the visitor tag, he leads Daichi to the school hall, and it’s there that he notices how the place has been decorated with art from the respective classes, some handmade and some painted. Daichi knows that Suga takes charge of most of the art classes in grades one and two, and has been talking about projects for the day. A lot of materials were bought (with a decent budget and with the help of the crafts store), and a lot of planning was done before everything was in full swing.

Suga gives a nervous smile. “It’s not much, but we tried to do our best.” he gestures to the small windmills and other decorations including boards full of beautifully made pieces. “I can’t thank you enough for helping me get the discounts for the supplies and be our official photographer.”

“It’s the least I could help with.” he gestures to his professional camera that he’s taken out of his bag, showing it off. “You’ll be the first to see the pictures.” he laughs at that. “Go get busy. The school is opening soon right?”

Suga glances at his phone, sees the time, and gasps, almost running off before he calls out again, “Come find me after the performance!” 

That leaves Daichi to his own devices, quite literally, so he waits for the hall to fill up with people and the event to start. Working as a photographer and running his own freelance business was fun, honestly - he got to watch others do their thing, have fun, and in turn Daichi himself had fun, too, catching all the special moments, from exchanging vows at a wedding, to a baby’s first year birthday, and sometimes even grand openings of shops, a family member turning a ripe old age, or events as special as a school festival.

Daichi likes to think that a _single_ picture is not enough to tell the full story, but if it’s more than enough to tell just a small fraction, then surely _multiple_ pictures placed side by side can create a whole album to tell it all. That’s his goal as the photographer - to help capture the most important moments in time. He’s reminded of the small surprise he has for Suga after the day ends, keeping a mental note about it so he can return to focusing on the event.

Each performance by the first and second grade kids are colourful, well put together, and the kids are well dressed. It puts everyone in high spirits with song and dance, and even the teachers of some of the classes join in as well to sing with the students.

Picture after picture, he captures the smiles and the bright, wide eyes of the kids and the audience, so focused that he doesn’t notice Suga is on stage with his homeroom class during the next performance. Daichi is genuinely surprised, doesn't remember him mentioning this, watching Suga dance along to the simple routine in his costume, but he keeps his composure and snaps all the photos he can. 

He watches Suga, too, along with the kids - they’re putting on a small play, a story about _The Giving Tree,_ and Suga plays the tree, along with three of his students on chairs holding leaf branches, while his homeroom kids are running around him and saying their lines. The kids are definitely enjoying their time performing with the teacher, but he can only focus on Suga, who sits so upright and has such a smooth delivery of lines that Daichi is very sure that Suga is enjoying himself a _little_ too much.

But then he’s reminded that Suga is a teacher after all, _willingly became one,_ and Suga has expressed that he loves teaching more than anything because it gives him purpose and fulfillment, and he spoils his own students sometimes. The performance amuses the audience, and Daichi can’t help but imagine what Suga would be like if they had their _own_ child in the future, when they’re both ready for it (and it's not like the topic hasn't come up multiple times.)

_Their kid would be absolutely spoiled rotten. He knows it._

The performance continues, and while it’s mostly smooth, he catches Suga cracking up at his students at a few points, almost breaking character because someone went to the wrong direction of the stage or it was just too funny to hold in. Daichi feels his heart pound, his smile growing bigger only in time. He is so in love with this man.

When the performances end, the festivities start, so the both of them finally get some time together even if Daichi is still working on getting photos taken. Some of the elementary kids excitedly come up to Daichi and pose for him for photos, and he willingly obliges. The two of them buy snacks, mainly Suga feeding Daichi while he takes photos, and watch the crowd play games in peace so Daichi can focus on his work.

At the end of the day, he’s exhausted, but all he can think about is spending the night with Suga on their couch, resting and having nothing but the world to themselves. He did have fun watching everyone and taking photos, and all he wants to do is go back to the house and settle in to look at them, but right now all he can think about is Suga.

Suga’s in the main room and Daichi is in their bedroom on his computer, but somehow they’re sharing a bowl of popcorn after watching a movie over dinner (more like Suga would walk in every few minutes to shove a handful of it in Daichi’s mouth with a childish giggle, but he’s completely okay with that). Dinner has been long settled, a bowl of katsudon handmade by Daichi, watching _Mamma Mia!_ together while eating. Both of them are doing their own things now. Daichi is finishing something on his end when Suga comes into the room, ready to end the day and climb into bed. 

Suga lays down on the bed, huffing as he lays flat. “Dai, come to bed, it’s really late.”

“Two minutes, I’m almost done,” he finishes up quickly, before holding the book behind his back, something he’s been working on for a while now, completely out of Suga’s awareness. He sits beside Suga, patting his hip with one hand, smiling. “Poor thing, you must be exhausted from playing _a tree_ today, standing in one position and being unable to move at all.”

Suga shoots him a glare with one eye open. “You tease me again and you’re gonna get none of my cuddles tonight.” he threatens softly, squinting. 

“Oh, as if you could resist my warmth in the middle of October, thank you,” he gestures for Suga to sit up, and when he does while rubbing his eyes, Daichi gives him the book he’s been working hard on. The cover reads _Koshi Sugawara, with a tiny heart._

Suga looks at him with an incredulous smile, slowly feeling over the brown scrapbook paper and its spiral coil binding. “What’s this?” he asks with a quiet voice, opening the book to reveal the first page - a picture of Suga on their recent adventure to main city Tokyo, during the school break. Suga didn’t know Daichi had been taking photos, but he had been staring at something through the window of a shop, and if Daichi’s memory is right, it was a geek figurine shop, and Suga had found one of a marvel character.

There’s a note scrawled at the bottom below the picture, and Suga reads it.

_“Suga,_  
_On this very day, six years ago, you first stepped into the craft store at nine in the evening, almost at closing hour. When I first saw you I thought I’d seen an angel, and I wondered why you were buying so many pairs of scissors that night. In hindsight, that was an interesting way to meet for the first time. Me, being the lonely university student I was, started enjoying the times you would show up at the shop, and when you left me your number on the third week I was surprised. We hit it off and I don’t ever think I would have expected us to end up here. But I trusted you, even though we only knew each other for a few months, and you opened up to me about why you wanted to teach children; to provide a helping hand to them and be a role model. In the process of you coming into my life, you helped me feel less lonely, opened up to you too. I want to continue taking care of you when you fall ill, continue to help you plan teaching schedules, and in turn all I want to ask for is that you marry me.”_

When Suga looks up next, Daichi is on the floor, one knee up, a red velvet plush ring box in his hand. Suga gasps, tears filling his eyes, hands at his mouth, and Daichi can only laugh to see Suga’s reaction. “Well, uh, that was a lot.” he wipes at Suga’s eyes with the pad of his thumb, who’s still too shocked to even begin to say anything. “It’s funny, because I wasn’t sure of myself, and I still see how insecure I get, but with you everything just fits right and the colours just blend perfectly to create a whole picture. I can’t imagine a future without-”

 _“You.”_ Suga completes the sentence, cupping his cheeks and moving to an angle where his face is almost inches away Daichi’s, and they press for a long, passionate kiss, and it makes Daichi feel all warm and tingly even if it’s nothing more. He laughs and pulls back, and he’s not sure who started crying, but he wipes Suga’s tears again, laughing at how he’s almost full on sobbing like a baby. “Yes, _Daichi Sawamura._ I wanna get married to my best friend, partner, and the person I could never trade the world for,” he chokes on the last bit before he’s emotionally sobbing again, making Daichi laugh heartily as he kisses Suga’s nose and helps him calm down. 

When Suga is all calm and a smile has returned to his flushed cheeks, Daichi takes the ring out of its box and slips the ring on his left fourth finger. It’s a simple metal band, their initials carved into it, and with roman numerals carved into the ring. On closer inspection it’s the date that they first met, the middle of October, and Suga smiles at him with all the emotions he can muster when he realizes, before patting his side and reaching for the scrapbook again, going through the pictures as he’s cuddled up by his side.

Daichi wraps his arm around Suga as they go through the pictures, and laughs at the ones Suga squeals about. Some are from the previous festivals, some are during their dates, and some on vacation (including one where they went to Osaka and saw a huge crab signboard at the famous Dontaburi Street, and Suga couldn’t resist taking a photo with it). As Suga complains for the next hour or so about how some of the pictures are ugly as hell because he’s making some dumb face in the picture, their legs tangled up and their respective blankets all around them and the final leaves of autumn begin to fall and the first snow is ready to fall, one thing remains clear, at least in his own mental picture. 

He loves Suga with everything he has, and his picture is not complete without him.

fin.

**Author's Note:**

> hi! so wow this started off as a fic idea that could've taken just two days turned into four, but it genuinely took me a while because there was just so much I wanted to write! it's no angst and all fluff and i think I'm happy with how it turned out. some characters may come off out of character, but i really tried to keep it constant. let me know what you think!!
> 
> you may find me on twitter @/SUGAWARAVITY!!
> 
> x char


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